Cosol Tours

[Overwhelming]

Hi! We are sailing in January 2014. How far ahead should be book a tour with Cosol (for a family of 3?) Also, has anyone done the private tour? If so, what was the price differential.

 

Thanks!

Koohiichan

 

We did a private tour with Cosol last week. We requested a water tour only. This did include lunch and drinks. We just spent longer on the beach and snorkled in three places. We enjoyed it. We payed $90 each.

[Koohiichan]

That is not a bad deal at all. Thanks for the info.

 

Koohiichan

[rabbit72]

Looking to book this tour and was wondering if there is a lot of walking and if so is it easy walking...ie:hiking type? just making sure what type of shoes wew ould need to wear???

[Katemusical]

Did anyone have a problem getting them to write you back after you sent your initial email? I have written them a couple of times and heard nothing back.

 

I wanted to make a reservation with them but am worried now about using them.

[rabbit72]

Did anyone have a problem getting them to write you back after you sent your initial email? I have written them a couple of times and heard nothing back.

 

I wanted to make a reservation with them but am worried now about using them.

 

I sent an email late this morning and just received my response about an hour ago to confirm my reservation.

[xaviermm123]

Did anyone have a problem getting them to write you back after you sent your initial email? I have written them a couple of times and heard nothing back.

 

I wanted to make a reservation with them but am worried now about using them.

 

We had no problem with Cosol, he was prompt in replying my emails and answering all my questions.

[canadarocks]

We'll be touring with Cosol next March and I'm wondering about footwear. I know that the beach is rocky so we'll wear watershoes for sure. But will they be sufficient for the rest of the tour, or should we wear running shoes for that part? :confused:

[Kat in CA]

The beach between the Pitons is a bit rocky and I did wear water shoes there. If your water shoes have zero arch support, you may want some sport sandals or other shoes for the volcano stop. You will be climbing some stairs with your guide there. The rest of the day does not have a whole lot of walking.

I wore my bathing suit under a loose sundress and was glad I did. The beach stop is fairly short (about an hour) and there is only one dressing room/bathroom there. I was able to whip off that dress and get in the water pronto! I then took off the suit and had dry clothes for the drive back.

Enjoy yourself and take that non drowsy Bonine before you go for sure! The Cosol folks are true gentleman and will take good care of you.

[canadarocks]

Thanks for the quick reply Kat. We'll wear good shoes and bring watershoes for the beach.

 

What about bathroom breaks? I've read that we should bring $1 bills, but what about toilet paper?

[canadarocks]

One more question: I know that we should try to sit at the front of the van, but does the choice of side make a difference? Is the view better on the left or right side?

[readytotravel44]

Yep, except you have to choose between the mud bath and the volcano. There isn't time to do both even though they are essentially in the same place.

 

This confused me too. The website seems to indicate that you can do both. I have emailed him that question.

 

One more question. Is there a water taxi ride involved? I seem to have read that somewhere but I can not find it in the description.

 

I think we are between Consol and James.

[reedprincess]

This confused me too. The website seems to indicate that you can do both. I have emailed him that question.

 

One more question. Is there a water taxi ride involved? I seem to have read that somewhere but I can not find it in the description.

 

I think we are between Consol and James.

Yes, on Cosol's tour, there is a water taxi between the pier in Soufriere and the beach at the base of the Pitons.

Doing the mud bath would add a fair amount of time - sometimes it's possible to do if the whole group wants to, and the stops before-hand have gone more quickly. Sometime, if the whole van does not want to do it, it's tough to do while others are just standing around and waiting.

Also, by adding the mud bath, you would lose out on beach time and sometimes people aren't willing to do the trade.....

Enjoy your visit.

[readytotravel44]

Yes, on Cosol's tour, there is a water taxi between the pier in Soufriere and the beach at the base of the Pitons.

Doing the mud bath would add a fair amount of time - sometimes it's possible to do if the whole group wants to, and the stops before-hand have gone more quickly. Sometime, if the whole van does not want to do it, it's tough to do while others are just standing around and waiting.

Also, by adding the mud bath, you would lose out on beach time and sometimes people aren't willing to do the trade.....

Enjoy your visit.

 

Thank you reedprincess. I contacted Consol and they said they could cut time from the banana plantation. I have a group of 6. If I add 4 more who want to do the same thing, we could go as a regular tour and not have to pay the private price. I also thing this could break us away from the massive group of Consols vans/busses all doing the same thing making the group seem massive. In addition it doesn't seem like the beach time is all that great.

[ericosmith]

On the standard tour, they dropped those that wanted to do the mud bath off and then the bus continued up the road to the volcano. On the return it picked up from the mud bath also. As I recall, there were only a couple of people who wanted to do the mud bath.

 

We had a regular speedboat rather than a water taxi. Plenty or room, plenty comfortable, and a very quick trip.

[cloverseeker]

We did this tour with "Bumpy" last week and he was awesome! It is a very long tour taking us between 8-8.5 hours instead of the 5-6 posted. Driving to and from is a very hilly, curvy and bumpy ride so take medicine if you are prone to any bit motion sickness. I was soooo sick:(. They only give you about an hour to snorkle then off to the volcano and waterfall.

Bring water shoes, the snorkling area is rocky and some areas slick.

 

They have lots of photo stops and give lots of information about the islands history and industry. We would book this company again if they have a boat ride to and from the Pitons instead of the drive.

[Ozarkmills]

Just have a few questions:

1. Did you pay for your tour before or day of tour?

2. What time did you meet for the tour and what time did you get back to the ship?

3. Were you nervous at all about booking outside of the cruise ship?

4. Did you have fun??? and also would you recommend this tour?

 

Thanks :D

 

Just back from my cruise, here's my review... First I'll answer the above questions. You pay after the tour before you get off to walk to the ship. We met at 8:15 and was back to the shopping area by the pier at 3:00. I was not nervous about booking (reserving on-line) outside of the cruise ship. They do match up your e-mail address to their list of reservations, so you just can't decide that morning. Now my review - Our driver was "Fat Man". FM was ok, he didn't talk much during the drives, but enough. I like more history and sites pointed out when I take a tour. This tour is 5+ hours long. Most of the time is in the van. Long distances to get to the stops. When we did make stops for photo's and such, there were always vendors around to bug you. We passed many scenic overlooks that I felt were better places to stop, but they didn't have vendors there. I think there is an arrangement between the tours and vendors. The feeling I got on tour was we needed to hurry up to the next stop. When we stopped for breakfast, we were rushed to eat and eat it all up. The food was ok, all finger type foods. I wasn't too hungry since I ate big on the ship prior. The "blue van" was always waiting for us at the stops for refreshments. The water taxi to Jealousy beach was fun, the water a shade of blue I've never seen before. The area at the beach is very small for the tour groups, so chairs are few. You only get to spend around an hour there. Please talk to the fruit man and ask him for fish food. Thousands of fish all around you to feed. The mud bath is a must! The volcano is similar to Yellowstone, so not so much to see there. The waterfalls are beautiful with spectacular flowers everywhere. I understood the water to be very cold. I don't know if I would do the tour again, once is enough. If you get car sick or drink too much, beware, you will get sick. The roads are very winding.

[canadarocks]

Thank you so much for the recent reviews. I had initially booked with Cosol, but I've switched to Spencer Ambrose's Land & Sea tour. I want to see the island, but sounds like the trip back by boat will be preferable.

[SeaThruU]

Does Cosol take US dollars as payment at the end of the tour?

[canadarocks]

Does Cosol take US dollars as payment at the end of the tour?

 

Yes

[SeaThruU]

Thanks!

[mamaofami]

How do I get in touch with Consol? An email address please.

 

Also, I have some mobility issues. Is there a lot of walking?

[canadarocks]

How do I get in touch with Consol? An email address please.

 

Also, I have some mobility issues. Is there a lot of walking?

 

Sorry, can't answer the mobility question, but here's the website: http://www.cosol-tours.com/

[Ozarkmills]

How do I get in touch with Consol? An email address please.

 

Also, I have some mobility issues. Is there a lot of walking?

 

There is not alot of walking (most of the tour is on the bus) but the beach portion may pose a slight problem. You will need to be able to get in and out of a water taxi. There are folks to help, but if you can manage that, you should be alright. The hardest part getting out of the water taxi is when you arrive on Jealousy Beach. As for contacting Cosol tours, google their name and their website has a way to contact them. They will e-mail you back. So don't worry if it takes a couple days for them to respond. You can discuss your mobility limitations with them and they can customize a trip for you and your group. You may want to join your roll call and see if anyone from your ship has mobility issues and are thinking of taking a tour. Have fun, St. Lucia is beautiful!

[Limeia]

Just booked with Cosol Tours for our December voyage. We are a group of 16, so they will have their hands full with our group :eek:

 

This tour is the one I'm most anxious for. We have booked a tour to Pinal Island on St. Martin and a tour on Barbados. Can't wait for December to get here! Woot, Woot!!:D

[Happy Larry 14]

we recently took Cosol based on recommendations we received and were very disappointed. The beach they took us too was very confined, with dirty chairs. The few chairs they had were all full. The beach was very rocky. Also they transported us in boats which were had for the 60 plus age group to get into and out of. We were taken to a fishing village and left there by our guide for 15-20 minutes and basically stood there while people came up for handouts. Our guide was nowhere to be found. The tour was supposed to be 5 hours but went 7.5 hours and was too long, I would give it 2 starts out of five